September 22, 2019
I've been by the location several times, but have never stopped. But, this time on the way back from the Minnesota Mile (flat track races), I stopped at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa as well as the crash site of Buddy Holly and the others.
Iowa
The Winter Dance Party at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa on February 2, 1959, starring:
Buddy Holly, with this band:
Waylon Jennings (bass)
Tommy Allsup (guitar)
Carl Bunch (drums)
Ritchie Valens
J.P. Richardson
Frankie Sardo
Dion DiMucci and the Belmonts
The ballroom is larger and better than I imagined. Its
history encompasses the entire big-band era as well as the early rock & roll
period that it has come to be known for.
It has been restored and
resurrected and is in excellent shape.
Things are exactly as I can imagine they always were, from the cloakroom to the telephone booth (where Buddy made his last call to his wife).
The stage is large, but the dance floor dominates.
There are tables and booths at the rear and along one side of the floor.
The rooms at the entrance are now a museum of displays for Buddy Holly (and the others) as well as all the many performers who have played at this ballroom over the years.
February 3, 1959
Just after the performance, Holly, Valens, Richardson with the pilot Roger Peterson took off in a V35 Beechcraft from the nearby Mason City airport for a flight to Fargo, North Dakota. They didn't get far.
The path to the crash site is marked by a large pair of glasses at the edge of a gravel road. It's about a 1/4 mile dirt trail along the fence line to the point where the remains of the airplane mostly ended up.
A variety of markers and mementoes--some more permanent than others--marks the spot.
